Did you ever dream of a State-of-the-art medical spa (MediSpa) in your pioneering hotel or resort, a benchmark in the field regarding Asia-Pacific region, PLENITUDE, as Expert Operator can bring you to the goal by providing a full range of business solutions along a total management.

Pages

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

An
evaluation carried out by the Ministry of Health has revealed that deep-water
seafood sourced from along Vietnam’s central coastline is not yet safe for
consumption, following the mass fish deaths that occurred in the region earlier
this year.

Deputy
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long announced the test results of fish quality
in central Vietnam during a press meeting on Tuesday morning, five months after
the environmental disaster hit the region.

A large
number of dead fish were washed ashore in the central provinces of Ha Tinh,
Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue in early April.

In late
June, it was concluded following a series of examinations by local and
international scientists that wastewater of the Vietnamese steel subsidiary of
Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group was responsible for the environmental disaster.

In late
August, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment concluded that most
of the central waters were safe for swimming and aquaculture activities, with
some exceptions.

According
to Deputy Minister Long, significant research had been conducted based on a
total of 1,040 fish samples collected from the local environment.

Findings
of the study indicated that all samples of pelagic fish, namely tuna, mackerel,
pompano, herring, and others, did not contain any poisonous substances.

However,
132 specimens of aquatic animals living near the bottom of the sea, including
shrimp, crab, squid, and rays among others, were infected with phenol, a
harmful chemical.

Given the
test results, the health official concluded that all fish of the upper layer of
the ocean are safe to eat.

He
recommended that only seafood caught from the lower level of the sea not be
consumed.

During an
interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday, an official from the
Ministry of Health said that inspections would continue until all fish are
deemed completely safe.

Experts
from the Vietnam Food Safety Agency, National Institute for Food Control, and
National Institute of Nutrition will collect more fish samples for further
assessment of their phenol content, the official elaborated.

He also
guaranteed that fish caught 20 nautical miles offshore were safe for
consumption.

Update on aquaculture activities

According
to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, seaways previously
declared harmful are now good for fish farming, following the latest test
results.

During
the meeting, deputy environment minister Ha Cong Tuan issued some guidance on
the operation of aquaculture activities for local residents.

Farmers
should focus on raising their fish at the upper layer of the ocean in order to
ensure safety and minimize losses, Tuan stated.

“Inspections
will also be carried out at local fish farms and on fishing boats to ensure
that all seafood is safe before being distributed and consumed,” he added.